Apple locking out modded Apple TVs?

Summary:Since the first day the Apple TV began shipping anxious users started hacking the boxes to allow playback of Xvid files (as an example).Yesterday a story appeared on Tutorial Ninjas suggesting that Apple may be locking down modded Apple TVs over the Internet.

Since the first day the Apple TV began shipping anxious users started hacking the boxes to allow playback of Xvid files (as an example).

Yesterday a story appeared on Tutorial Ninjas suggesting that Apple may be locking down modded Apple TVs over the Internet. In the posting the Ninjas claim to have had their SSH/VNC disabled overnight is some sort of a software update from Apple. They're recommending that users with modded hardware a) change the password, and b) deny Internet access to it.

Such a move wouldn't be unprecedented in the industry, modded Xboxes routinely get black-listed from Xbox live and malware masquerading as a firmware upgrade has been known to "brick" PSPs. But I tend to agree with Rob Parker who said on Episode 37 of the PowerPage Podcast (which taped last night) that it didn't sound like something Apple would do.

Some have suggested that Apple TV may just "repair" its software (similar to what XP does) and state that there's really no proof that Apple did it (user error?). Other are irked that Apple appears to be performing software updates to the box without asking the user for permission.

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.
He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging....
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Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage: Amazon Associates and Google Adsense. Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.